The Warrior Maiden
by RavenRose8
Summary: Her destiny was set in stone the first time she opened her eyes, now almost twenty years later and several years as a Huntress under her belt it was time for her to take an active part in that destiny once more.
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet evening, or it was supposed to be a quiet evening but it ended up being anything but. She needed to stock up on dust, but before she did she decided to browse the magazine section to catch up with news in the world of dust and weaponry as she'd been out of touch with it for a while.

That's when she heard them. They entered the shop intent on robbing it of all its dust, for what she didn't know, nor did she care but they were robbing it and she was there.

Striding out of the back she advanced on the men standing there, she recognised the henchmen. They all worked for Junior, someone she knew rather well over the years.

The other man though, she recognised from the wanted posters she'd seen in the Huntsmen lodges, Roman Torchwick. Wanted for armed robbery and a host of other crimes as well.

"You all should know who I am, leave and I will forget all of this." She said coldly, approaching them all.

All they could see was the red cloak wrapped around her body, hood up and covering her head from view but they recognised the cloak and what they would discover underneath.

Underneath would be a beautiful woman, one that most had attempted to chat up at the bar but all failed. Her hair was long and mostly tied back into a ponytail, it was brunette with natural red and white highlights throughout.

She had natural silver eyes that seemed to bore into your soul whenever she looked at you, her face was sharp and screamed of being a warrior and of danger.

Her upper body was covered by a high-neck, white décolletage blouse with a black over the breast corset. She wore a black and red, puffy skirt that reached her mid-thigh and combined this with black tights that reached just below her mid-thigh with black combat boots that reached just below her knee.

On her waist were two belts, one of which contained rather large bullets that were the ammunition for her high-impact sniper rifle scythe. A deadly weapon in her hands as she fought. But this wasn't her only weapon, for the close encounters she had a powerful revolver holstered on her hip and a short sword sheathed on the hip, while her scythe was stored at the small of her back.

Her entire outfit screamed warrior to people, and no one messed with her. Rumours of her exploits spread across the world though no one really knew her name, only identities, the most famous of which was Red. A huntress who took out contracts to help people, and even hunted criminals on occasion.

She was powerful and no one got in her way, at least that's what people say though she had the scars that proved otherwise.

What wasn't as well-known was that she was only twenty years old, fortunately she knew the right people, people who didn't ask her age but let her skill show instead.

"We apologise Miss Red." One of Juniors men said, bowing to her as they quickly left the shop after apologising to the shopkeeper.

"Worth every penny, truly you were." Roman Torchwick stated, looking as all his hired help left the shop, before turning back to Red.

"I suggest you follow their example" She stated, her hand casually resting on her holstered pistol.

"I think not Red, but I'll see you around." Roman saluted with his hat, throwing a broken and volatile red dust crystal at her.

Acting on instinct she batted the crystal away with her arm, which sent it out of the window of the shop as it exploded just outside.

This distraction though allowed Roman to escape out of the shop, avoiding the blast as he managed to head up to a rooftop.

"I'm going after him." She informed the shopkeeper, bursting out of the door using her semblance to chase after Roman.

She was on the roof within seconds, watching as Roman walked to the edge as he was clearly waiting for something to arrive.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Roman called out, raising his cane which opened to fire at her.

Bringing out her scythe she unfolded it just in time to absorb the explosive fired at her, but as the smoke cleared she heard a bullhead aircraft in the air and as she looked up she spotted Roman standing within the cargo area.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Red shouted out, folding her scythe down into its rifle form and began to fire.

Roman moved away, heading into the cockpit as he said to his companion, "We've got a Huntress." He said, taking the controls while the woman stood up and went into the cargo area.

Red was continuing to fire up but her shots were absorbed by the woman's hand, recognising what was happening she put her scythe away but the ground formed into a rune and she was suddenly pulled backwards.

Putting her hand onto the ground she pushed herself up and into the air to land on her feet as she spotted a huntress stood next to her, advancing towards the bullhead as she began to bring the debris into a usable weapon against the bullhead but it failed and they managed to get away with another explosion of the rooftop.

"You're coming with me." The woman said coldly to Red, and with no choice given to her Red followed the woman.

Red frowned as she found herself deposited inside a police interrogation room, with the door closed and locked.

Walking around the room several times she smiled and sat down, she knew her way out if she wanted to but she'd see how this plays out first.

It took over an hour for the door to open, in that time though Red just relaxed in the chair. She knew it was a tactic to put her off guard but it wouldn't work with her.

When the door opened though she saw Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon academy enter the room alongside Glynda Goodwitch, the huntress from earlier.

"You go by many names, what name shall I call you today?" Ozpin asked as he entered the room, taking a seat opposite the woman.

"I don't care, are you here to let me go?" Red asked, sounding bored.

"Alright then Miss S…" Ozpin began to say but he didn't get past the first syllable before Red interrupted.

The glare that Red shot at Ozpin was cold and held deadly intent as Red's eyes, normally silver seemed to glow as silver and fire seemed to mix around her iris'.

"Anything but that!" Red shot out, angry at Ozpin.

"Fine then, Miss Rose…Ruby. You've gone through many names over the last few years, and many contracts as well. Though last time I saw you, you weren't wielding a high-powered scythe." Ozpin stated.

"My uncle taught me a few things, are you going to allow me to leave?" Ruby asked coldly once more, wanting nothing more than to leave as it seemed Ozpin had nothing worthwhile to say to her.

"Ah Qrow, that would make sense and how you were able to get contracts at first…I wonder though, why did you leave Atlas Academy? You were one of the top students of the school, despite being several years younger than the rest of your classmates." Ozpin asked, curiosity ripe in his voice.

"I'm sure you're well aware of why I left Ozpin, but you clearly have nothing worthwhile to actually talk to me about so I'll just take my leave." Ruby said, pushing herself away from the desk and heading to the door.

Just as she got to the door though Glynda moved into her way to stop her. "Ruby, I know you've been busy these last few years, but I'm also aware that you never officially completed your schooling nor are you officially recognised as a huntress…I could help you with that." Ozpin offered, though without stating the offer.

Ruby burst out laughing, for the last three years she had been taking contracts out happily, no one stopped her and she got on just fine with other hunters and huntresses. "And why, pray tell do you think I care about that? I've been getting on just fine." Ruby answered, knowing where Ozpin was going with his offer.

"But if I spread the word around that you're not a full huntress, do you still think you'll get around as easy?" Ozpin challenged her.

"Blackmail Ozpin, I know Ironwood would stoop that low, but would you?" Ruby challenged right back, "And your influence isn't as large as it once was, I can get by. And it'll beat returning to a school as a first year, all of which I'm two years senior to them and several years more experienced." Ruby said, she wouldn't be put into that situation.

"Unfortunately, the first years is the only year with room, but I can promise you that you won't be treated as such and can attend the third-year lessons if you so wish." Ozpin offered in place.

Ruby stood there, thinking on the offer. There were several things she needed to do in Vale, and if Ozpin were to make her life difficult here then it could prove to be a problem. But at the same time, she had a freedom being on her own as well.

She knew though that she would be restricted in what she could do while at the school but perhaps she could find a workaround. "I'd like to be able to have some freedom to take contracts while within the school, I would run them past you first but I'd like to take them out." Ruby countered.

"You're not even a full huntress…" Glynda started to exclaim but was stopped by Ozpin.

"I find this agreeable, as long as they're run past me first and I give you permission to take them. Anything else?" Ozpin asked.

"Unrestricted access to the libraries of Beacon, and not just the student ones but _all_ of them." Ruby stated.

"How do you know about them?" Ozpin asked, though he didn't sound angry that she knew about the secret libraries hidden in Beacon.

"I know my history Ozpin, and I know especially about the history of my linage. Both sides." Ruby replied, "Do you accept my terms?" Ruby asked, it wasn't everything she wanted but she knew she shouldn't push for too much, though she was unsure why Ozpin wanted her at his school.

"I do. Initiation is in three days, I trust you can work out where. New students should arrive the day before." Ozpin said to her, signalling for Glynda to step aside to allow her to leave.

"I'll be there for initiation." Ruby said, leaving the room as she made her way to somewhere that wasn't there.

The two older adults watched her leave, and as the door closed Glynda turned to Ozpin and said, "She's not what I was expecting from a Schnee." She said, she'd met Winter Schnee and her parents before and they were nothing like Ruby, at all.

"She was the black sheep of her family for many years, it wasn't until she broke out on her own that she forged her own path. I'm just afraid that we may be too late with this." Ozpin said rather cryptically.

"It's not too late. We have her at Beacon now, she's in the perfect position for what you expect to come. But do you truly believe it is her? That she is possibly the key to all of this?" Glynda asked.

"For all our sakes, I truly hope so. And now maybe Ironwood will tell us the truth." Ozpin said, standing up to leave with Glynda following him.

 **A/N**

 **So, this is what I've been working on, it's an AU where Ruby wasn't born to Summer and Tai but rather to Summer and Mizu Schnee. She takes after Summer more then Mizu clearly, and there's several different things changed which will be made clearer in later chapters.**

 **At the moment I've written up to the battle of Beacon, but I wanted to get this out there and see what people think.**

 **As a side note as well Ruby is twenty years old and she uses a sword and revolver combo alongside her regular scythe as well.**

 **I can't really think of much more to say at the minute, so I guess until next time. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-**

Ruby weaved through the people on the streets, though why so many were out this time of night was beyond her, but her destination was fixed in her mind.

Eventually she arrived at her destination, a warehouse on the edge of town in what looked like a rough area of the city.

Knocking on the door, one look from the bouncer inside who saw her red cloak and the door opened and she was let inside.

Walking in she noticed that several of the staff stepped aside or even hid from her, she smiled underneath her hood that she inspired such fear in people.

Taking a seat at the bar she waited several minutes for the own, Junior to come over to her after speaking with a few of his employees.

"I'd like to apologise Ruby, if I'd known my men would be doing that I would have stopped them and not allowed that man to hire them." Junior apologised.

"Be careful who you deal with Junior, but this is the first and only time I've heard of your men doing something like this. I know you're an information broker, stick with it." Ruby said, she wasn't annoyed at Junior. She couldn't be as she knew the man but a gentle warning would be enough for him.

"I will, don't worry Ruby. And thank you for giving my men a chance to leave. But I don't think that's all you've come here for." Junior replied.

"I'm looking for someone, a woman named Katakana. Any information you have, I'll pay your usual rate." Ruby requested.

"I'll put out some feelers. I know the name, but I don't know where she is currently, timeframe on this?" Junior asked, turning to business now.

"As soon as you can please." Ruby said, casting an eye around the club. There were several people that caught her eye as she looked around, though no one seemed to stand out to her.

"The room you rent out, is it available?" Ruby asked without looking to see if Junior was still there.

"It is, how long?" Junior asked, it was common for Ruby to rent the room for several days while she was in town.

"Two nights, here." Ruby said, taking out the Lien and handing it over. Junior handed over the key, which Ruby stashed into her pocket as she asked.

"I'll see you later." Ruby said, heading upstairs to the room. She didn't bother to stay in the club as no one had caught her eye enough to keep her there.

* * *

 **Beacon Academy.**

Arriving a day early with most of other students, Ruby took the time to explore the courtyard. She had never been to Beacon though she knew of the world-famous school.

Ruby watched the incoming students, she could tell who were the new ones and who were the older years just by how they moved around the school.

"Weiss Schnee, your family had some rather questionable practises with Faunus workers until almost twenty years ago." Ruby heard the two talking. One she recognised immediately and though she didn't want to see Weiss, she wanted to see the other woman.

"Blake Belladonna, I see you got into Beacon in the end." Ruby said, approaching the two young women.

"Ruby, what are you doing here?" Blake asked, turning to face Ruby leaving a gaping Weiss behind her.

As Ruby approached she held her hand out to Blake who took it by the wrist firmly for a few seconds before both women let go.

"Well met Blake." Ruby greeted, "And I'm a student here." Ruby answered briefly, though gave no hint as to why she joined.

"A first year?" Blake asked in confusion, she knew Ruby's age but not her history.

"No space apparently." Ruby shrugged it off though as she didn't really care.

"Ruby, is that really you?" Weiss asked carefully, with Ruby's hood down she could see her face but she had changed since she last saw her.

"Hello Weiss, it's been a while. I thought you would be at Atlas." Ruby commented, having thought that Weiss would go to Atlas academy instead.

"I wanted to go to Beacon, prove myself away from home." Weiss stated almost smugly.

"I see. And how are our mothers?" Ruby asked.

"They…they're well and they miss you." Weiss said though she hesitated on saying anything.

"Hmm…I see. Well, I'll see you later." Ruby said, turning away from them as she headed towards the school to explore the building itself.

"Ruby! Wait up!" Blake called out, running to catch up with Ruby. "Could we uh, could we talk please?" Blake asked softly, worry etched in her features.

"Of course, what about?" Ruby asked acting naïve about the reason.

"The, uh…train…ahem, raid." Blake said quietly, not wanting to speak too loudly in case someone heard her.

"You mean when you left the White Fang?" Ruby asked, a little too loudly for Blake's liking.

"Shhhhh." Blake shushed immediately, pulling Ruby aside and away from several students walking past.

The White Fang, while not having as much support because of new waves of Faunus rights being spearheaded by the Schnee family but also the Belladonna family as Blake's father was the leader of the White Fang before they became more violent and militaristic but now served as the chief of Menagerie.

But they were still active and now stockpiling Dust for some unknown reason though Ruby wanted to find out why.

"I apologise, but there is nothing to be ashamed about. Our past shapes who we are, how we act now. What was it you wished to talk about?" Ruby asked in interest, curious to know why Blake wanted to speak to her about it.

"I...You're not going to tell anyone are you? About who I was before?" Blake asked, scared and worried that she'll be outed, especially since she was wearing a bow to hide her ears.

"Blake." Ruby began, her tone sounding slightly upset. "I would never, did you learn nothing while we were together?" Ruby asked the woman.

"I…I'm sorry it's just…I'm on edge, I'm finally here and it doesn't seem real." Blake admitted honestly.

"Oh Blake." Ruby said sadly.

* * *

" _I'm sorry." Blake said, looking at Adam on the retreating train. She had just cut the passenger cars from the cargo areas and leaving Adam behind._

 _Turning around she stored her weapon and went to head inside. This was the first of the passenger carts, though she knew they were empty as they'd all gone forward. She only hoped she could blend in with the crowds as they got off._

 _As she entered the cart though she saw a someone standing in front of her, her red cloak hiding her body and face from Blake's view but what was in her view was a sword and pistol held at the person's side._

 _Scared, backed into a corner as she had nowhere to go. Blake struck first as she drew her katana and charged. Looking back on it she knew she should have talked first but the way that the woman, Ruby had stood there it looked like she wanted to fight, which was reinforced afterwards when Ruby said as much._

 _Bringing her blade down across Ruby's chest she found it blocked halfway, held in a strong grip she had to back away to break the lock._

 _Gaining some space by firing her pistol she found that none of her bullets made contact as Ruby dodged each shot._

 _Once more on the offensive, Blake used her ribbon to send her blade across the carriage and to Ruby's side while she charged forward with her scabbard to hit Ruby's other side._

 _Her blade hit Ruby's side but her scabbard was blocked by Ruby's sword, though she seemed to have staggered a little from the blade._

 _Getting her sword back Blake attacked again while keeping Ruby's sword away but the blow was absorbed by her pistol, and Ruby fired several shots to knock Blake back before going on the offensive herself._

 _Throwing a flurry of blows at Blake, who barely blocked and dodged them all the duo ended up at a stalemate as Ruby's was at Blake's neck, while Blake's sword was at Ruby's stomach._

" _Ahem." Ruby coughed after a few seconds._

 _This caused Blake to look down and she saw what Ruby meant, her pistol was pointed at her thigh. Directly at her main artery._

* * *

This was what began their friendship. Ruby believed that to tell a person's honest intentions, at least that of a fighter was to fight them. So, when Ruby listened to Blake once they put their weapons away she believed her immediately.

For the following month, Blake travelled with Ruby. With Ruby's help, she got away from the White Fang and began pursuing her new choice of becoming a Huntress.

It was by no means an easy journey but with Ruby's help it was made easier as she helped with her contracts and she applied for Beacon, though she left Ruby's company before telling her of her acceptance but in there time together Ruby helped Blake with life outside the White Fang.

They were close, friends even. Though Ruby knew more about Blake, then Blake did about Ruby. She knew nothing of her family or what happened at Atlas that made her leave but she knew that Ruby was powerful and skilful.

"I know…it's just, I'm worried that Ozpin will find out and I'll be kicked out or arrested." Blake told Ruby.

"Sweetie, he already knows. He's kept you here regardless, because like me he believes that people can change. You're safe, and I'll be here to help you if you need it." Ruby explained, pulling Blake into a one-armed hug.

"Thank you." Blake said, hearing those words were comforting to her and gave her some ease. Though she was unsure with Weiss Schnee at the school and in her year because although the Schnee family no longer had the bad practises she still remembered the prejudices.

"Could I ask you something?" Blake asked after a minute.

"Of course." Ruby replied.

"You asked Weiss Schnee about 'our mothers' are you related to the Schnee's?" Blake asked, having picked up on the conversation.

"It's complicated, and it looks like we should be getting to the hall for the evening." Ruby redirected but she had spotted most of the students heading towards the hall.

"I'll get answers from you at some point." Blake stated at the blatant redirection.

"Perhaps. Now come on, I'd like to see what other students there are." Ruby said, leading them to the hall they'd be sleeping in.

While she didn't get the chance to explore the school as she'd have liked, she could easily do it another day when she was alone.

Entering the hall, Blake quickly left to sort out her sleeping arrangements for the night while Ruby decided to wander around.

She was curious to see the new students, what calibre the new intakes would be. She also noted the weapons they wore, some had them by their side or close by while others had clearly stored them away.

Eventually Ruby grew bored of people watching, though she had spotted one other famous person in the students. Pyrrha Nikos, one of the best tournament fighters in the world for her age.

Ruby knew the woman through reputation though she had met her briefly once before she'd left Atlas but she never had a long conversation with her so she didn't expect the woman to recognise her, much less remember her.

Fortunately, she didn't though Ruby had a suspicion that she was trying to work out who Ruby was but Ruby instead found a bed and laid down.

All she did was remove her weapons from her body and placed them on the bed next to her as she laid down. Deciding to sleep the night away.

 **A/N**

 **So a short chapter before the action and stuff happens as we have initiation next, this isn't complete at all yet but people seem to be liking it so I'm going to post this randomly, it doesn't help that I'm actually re-writing a portion of it.**

 **Anyway until next time, oh and anxiety fucking sucks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Initiation Day.**

Ruby was one of the first awake as she headed down to the launch pads. She had learnt to sleep in short bursts when out in the wilds to not attract the Grimm.

It took another two hours for everyone to arrive and for the Ozpin and Glynda to arrive as well. But once Ozpin began talking and explaining how it would go, Ruby tuned him out.

She had heard this before, or at least something like this before from General Ironwood for the initiation at Atlas.

Eventually though students began being launched into the forest, which had Ruby's mind thinking. Before she had used her scythe to slow her decent but that had been a waste of bullets, something that she had learnt not to waste when she couldn't restock.

Deciding on her landing strategy just as she was launched into the air she prepared herself to execute it.

Gaining as much distance as she could once she began to dip towards the ground she flipped herself over so she was going feet first and as she got closer to the ground she activated her speed.

Using her semblance of speed, she managed to hit the ground running with her speed and used it to slow down until she was standing still in the middle of the forest.

Breathing in deeply, she took in the smell of the forest. She had missed the smell because she'd been in the city for too long, at least by her standards.

"Right. Head for the temple, find a partner. Best choice? Blake, worst choice…maybe Weiss, it might not go well…hmm…let's see what happens." Ruby mumbled to herself, making her plan as she began to sprint through the forest.

As she sprinted towards the ruins she heard a pack of Beowolves moving around, clearly heading towards a bigger fight that she could hear.

Smiling she drew her sword that glinted in the sun revealing the engravings on the blade and the haft itself.

Along the blade were her family symbol, an intricate rose engraved into the blade in several places while on the haft it was wrapped carefully in red leather with another silver rose on the end of the haft. It was a family blade, one that she had forged herself to represent her family.

Coming to the edge of the forest on a small clearing, Ruby frowned as she saw what was before her. Weiss was standing in the middle as half a dozen Beowolves were standing around her, prowling as they got ready to attack.

Curious to see how Weiss had come along with her training she stood there and watched how Weiss would fight.

Weiss stood there, drawing her blade up and worrying about her positioning as she waited to attack until she was perfect in her starting position.

Quietly Ruby drew her pistol as she spotted one of the Grimm prowling around behind Weiss and looked ready to pounce on the unaware Weiss.

Ruby was torn between letting the Grimm attack and stepping in, on the one hand if she stepped in she would save Weiss from injury but on the other hand she wouldn't learn as well if she wasn't hurt.

"Oh, fuck it." Ruby mumbled as she saw the Beowolf about to attack but Weiss was about to attack the ones in front of her.

Her pistol barked out several times tearing apart the Grimm behind Weiss, but seeing how this sudden noise distracted Weiss she readjusted her aim.

Emptying the rest of the wheel into the Grimm around Weiss she hung back and allowed Weiss, who quickly recovered her wits and attacked the other Grimm.

"I told you before, I won't always be around to save you. You weren't even aware of the Grimm moving behind you, remember don't think too much just act." Ruby advised as if they were back at the Schnee mansion and she was teaching Weiss.

"I knew they were there!" Weiss defended as she met Ruby's eyes.

"No, you didn't. You can't lie to me, so don't try." Ruby said sounding a little annoyed that Weiss even tried to, "Now come on we need to get to the temple…partner." Ruby said, walking away.

Weiss followed her and they began making progress towards the temple though after twenty minutes of walking Weiss asked, "Are we even heading the right way?" She asked after seemingly making no progress.

"We are, about half a mile possibly a little more and we'll be at the temple." Ruby informed her.

"How do you know?" Weiss asked as she continued following.

"I saw it from the air, and I know the temple is east of where we launched so going by the sun I know we're on the right path." Ruby explained, pointing out the position of the sun as she moved.

It didn't take them much longer to cover the last half mile as they reached the temple. They noticed that baring four other pieces that most of them had gone.

"Seems we're amongst the last ones here." Weiss pointed out, choosing one of the chest pieces.

"The missions to get the relic and get out, that's it. Time doesn't matter." Ruby said just as a loud roar came around them.

Ruby and Weiss both watched as several different Grimm came through the forests edge and crashed to the ground, dead. A man named Ren and a woman called Nora came over to collect their pieces.

"Get ready." Ruby said quietly to Weiss. More students were coming out of the forest now, she saw Blake and Yang rushing out of the forest with a Nevermore chasing them though it seemed to fly off for the moment.

Lastly came Pyrrha and a man named Jaune who were being chased by a Deathstalker that came charging after them.

Dashing forward Ruby went to meet the Deathstalker head on as she called out, "Weiss freeze it!" She asked as she blocked one of its claws from killing Jaune.

Weiss did as she was asked, her rapier spinning and she slammed it into the ground causing ice to shoot up from and along the ground and as it hit the Deathstalker it froze part of its body to the ground.

"Let's get moving!" Ruby shouted out, ordering everyone to grab their relics and get moving further through the temple ruins though they were heading towards a bridge.

The Nevermore came screeching back around as it charged to take out the bridge. They were split up with half facing down the Deathstalker and the other half facing down the Nevermore.

Glancing over briefly Ruby saw that Pyrrha and her team would be alright against the Deathstalker she focused on facing down the Nevermore.

"Weiss, your speed Glyphs, can they launch a person?" Ruby asked as she took the situation quickly.

"They should, I've never done it before though." Weiss said, confused at what Ruby wanted her to do.

She didn't get her answer immediately as the Nevermore swooped around and destroyed the tower they were standing on.

The four of them made their way back up to a higher point as Ruby called out, "Yang! Distract it for a minute! Blake, I need your ribbon." Ruby shouted her orders to be heard, and the woman moved quickly.

"Weiss, we need to lock it in position." Ruby said, watching as Blake went to help Yang and it seemed almost instinctual that the two women lured the creature to the top of a temple.

"Weiss." Ruby called.

"On it." Weiss said as she dashed forward with her rapier at the ready.

"Yang! Blake!" Ruby called out, storing her sword and pistol as she drew her folded up scythe.

"Ready!" The two women called out and Ruby spun around, resting her scythe against the stretched-out ribbon.

Weiss had returned and the Nevermore was locked in place attempting to get out from its frozen prison. A black glyph began to form behind Ruby's scythe.

"Can you, do it?" Ruby asked, worried that it might be too much for Weiss.

"I can." Weiss answered, concentrating on it.

"Three…two…one…" Ruby cocked her scythe, loading the rifle as Weiss launched her.

Firing one bullet after another, Ruby activated her semblance in conjunction with being launched and her bullets which all gave her a boost but as she was halfway through the air she seemed to simmer momentarily and suddenly there were two Ruby's in the air.

One in her infamous red and another who seemed to shine blue and both hit the Nevermore hard as it was slammed back into the cliff behind it.

Grunting with effort, Ruby stood up from her crouched landing and began firing up as she dragged the Nevermore with her, both Ruby's scythes digging into its neck until she reached the top of the cliff and with one final effort she removed its head.

Landing Ruby turned back to look at the other students with her, she saw the Deathstalker was dead and now they were starring wide eyed at her.

Smiling she turned away from the cliff and began heading back.

* * *

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. You will be team RWBY with Ruby Rose as your leader." Ozpin announced to everyone.

It didn't come as a surprise to them that Ruby would be their leader and once they left the hall and found their new room they settled in rather well.

"I'll book a training room as often as we can but it'll be a fight for places. You'll be responsible for your own studies but I won't let you fall behind. If you have any issues with anything or anyone then come speak to me. Now why don't we get settled in? We have classes starting tomorrow." Ruby said to her team.

At Atlas because they fostered independence amongst their teams she wanted to do the same here. She wouldn't babysit her team but she'd look out for them and if they wanted to do things together as a team she wouldn't stop any of them or joining in.

"Where are you going?" Yang asked as Ruby opened the door to leave.

"I'm going to explore the school and book some time in the training rooms." Ruby said as she left the room. Making sure that no one followed her.

Wrapping her cloak around her body she headed through the school to explore. She wanted to learn where everything was early on to avoid problems later.

* * *

"Who are you calling?" Blake asked, hearing the dial tone echoing in the air disturbing her reading.

"My sister, Winter." Weiss answered.

"You have a sister?" Yang asked, sitting up from the bed. Now was as good a time as any to learn about her new teammates.

"I do. I have three siblings." Weiss answered and Winter's face appeared on her scroll before she could say anymore.

"Hello Weiss, judging by your call I'm guessing that initiation went well for you." Winter said once she answered.

"It did, it went very well. We defeated a Nevermore to finish off initiation." Weiss explained briefly.

"We? So, I see that you've got your team. I take it you are the leader then. Who is in your team?" Winter asked without pause.

Deciding not to bring that topic up quite yet Weiss decided to introduce her team, "There's Yang Xiao Long." Weiss said, directing the scroll towards Yang.

"Hello." Yang said, waving at the camera.

"There is also Blake Belladonna." Weiss introduced next.

"Belladonna? Hmm, do I perhaps know you Miss Belladonna?" Winter asked as the camera was focused on Blake.

"I wouldn't think so Miss Schnee, I can't say I've met a member of the Schnee family before now." Blake said though she wasn't sure where exactly Ruby fell with the family.

"I see. Well then, what about your fourth member Weiss? I can't seem to see them in the room." Winter asked as she had been able to see most of the room now but no sign of the fourth member.

"That's uh…that's our leader…Ruby uh…Ruby Rose." Weiss said though she seemed almost reluctant to tell Winter this fact though.

"Ruby Rose…she's going by Rose now…" Winter said softly, she had hints that this was the case with Ruby but she was never able to confirm it because Ironwood and all her other contacts practically refused to tell the older Schnee anything about Ruby.

"She is. She's our team leader, I don't know what deal she's made with Ozpin but well…she's on my…our team." Weiss answered.

"Don't tell Ruby, but I'll be there as soon as I can be." Winter stated as she cut the call without so much as a goodbye.

"What's that all about?" Yang asked, confused at the exchange that looked to have been going well.

"It's complicated, I…please don't tell Ruby what happened or that Winter is coming here." Weiss asked her new team.

"I'm not sure if I can keep a secret from Ruby, it doesn't feel right." Blake admitted openly.

* * *

 **Several days later.**

The first few days were boring for Ruby, most of this she'd been taught before or had learnt herself. Her only class that she enjoyed was Glynda's combat class, though so far, she hadn't been picked to fight but that would all change today.

"Miss Rose and Mr Winchester, please step forward." Glynda called out, the first few days she was pitting the students against each other to learn where they were in their fighting skills. "Began when ready." Glynda called.

Ruby smiled as she had felt the urge to fight and do something since initiation but because the training rooms had been booked solid she hadn't had much of a chance.

Her scythe remained on her back as she drew her sword. Holding it just in front of her she put her other hand behind her back as she bowed to her opponent.

Cardin though used this moment to strike at Ruby unprepared, or at least that was his plan but Ruby rolled under the attack and jumped up at Cardin's side.

Ruby didn't say anything but launched her attack at Cardin's unprotected side but he got his mace around in time to block the strike.

Within the first thirty seconds of back and forth Ruby had gotten Cardin's measure, how he attacked and his weaknesses.

Jumping back, Ruby changed her tactics. _He favours his right side, swings in heavy. All power but no speed. Breaks your guard by the strength of attack, staggers you enough so his next attack makes contact._

Ruby thought to herself as she charged in against, power attacks were all well and good against a slow or weak opponent but anyone that could match or beat your strength could withstand the attack.

But in Ruby's case pure speed. She could avoid the attacks and swing in with her own before he got a chance to defend himself.

First though Ruby wanted to play, with the measure of her opponent she had a plan to win but she didn't want to win just yet.

Swinging in low she telegraphed her attack to see how Cardin would react, which he blocked and as Ruby came back she left her side wide open for an attack but Cardin went after her sword first.

This continued for several minutes as Ruby would openly show where she was attacking and leave herself open to Cardin but he wouldn't attack her open side.

The match lasted for almost five minutes before Glynda called out, "Stop! This match is over!" Glynda called out to them, stopping the fight.

"Why? Our Aura hasn't even gone down yet!" Cardin called out, angry that the match was called off.

"Because Miss Rose has won, for the last four minutes she has been playing with you." Glynda pointed out to the man. "And Miss Rose, next time do not waste my time." Glynda said.

"Show me the same respect, do not waste mine. If you wish to put me against someone several years my junior in skill and age then I will aim to teach them not defeat them quickly where they learn nothing." Ruby shot back as she was annoyed that she was pitted against the man. Glynda knew the skills of the class and as such she knew what she was doing by having Ruby go against Cardin.

"Miss Rose, where are you going?" Glynda asked, shocked as she watched Ruby walking out of class halfway through.

"Anywhere but here until you show me some respect." Ruby said. She knew the woman didn't like her but regardless she should be shown some respect.

Though Ruby was using this as another excuse to explore the school as she still hadn't found what she was looking for within the school. But for the moment she'd just explore.

At Atlas, she had spent a lot of spare time exploring the school, it was how she found her favourite spot to study and get away from people. But she'd found hidden rooms and hallways that had been forgotten over the years, though the General always seemed to know where she was.

Spending the rest of Glynda's class exploring the school she headed to the courtyard before going to her next class when her scroll alerted her to a message.

 _Grimm nest threatening village. Located edge of Vale territory. Confirm acceptance for more details._

Looking over the contract she looked at the map and discovered that it wasn't too far only around fifty kilometres away.

' _Huntress Rose accepts.'_ Ruby replied, having chosen to take the contract out.

There was no formal ranking system for Hunters, in essence they could take any contract that are publicly listed or one listed inside the Hunters guilds, building that Hunters and Huntress' can use to rest up, find jobs or to meet fellow Hunters.

But although there was no formal system, the Huntmasters, the ones who handled the contracts as middlemen or women but also made sure everything was running correctly. They knew the harder contracts, the ones where the most skilled were needed.

Everyone had their own networks of people they used and trusted for the harder contracts and as such would keep these contracts out of general listing and ask Hunters and Huntresses privately to take the jobs.

Over the several years Ruby had been a Huntress she had built up these contacts across the four Kingdoms with all manors of Hunters and Huntresses and as she got her name out there she was getting more and more high-risk contracts.

"Time to see Ozpin." Ruby mumbled to herself, walking straight past her next class to see the headmaster.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **My aim now is to start posting this more now, I'm writing the Volume five final battle, which will be where the story will deviate from whatever happens in canon.**

 **I wanted to get a fair amount of this story written out where I can start posting it and not feel forced to keep up with it, also over the next several days I'll be uploading another story I finished at long last.**

 **Also, I'm looking for some prompts, I want to write some Ruby x Winter one shots or short stories but I'd love to get some prompts so I can work on writing different things. So please leave one in a review or PM me.**

 **Anyway, until next time. Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **One week later.**

It had taken her just under a week to complete the contract. The village was a day's trip away from the school, and once Ruby arrived she spoke with the village elders before investigating the nest the following day.

After that it took her a couple days to plan out how she would handle the nest, when she finally attacked it was slow and methodically.

She picked off the Beowolves from a range first, selecting those that wandered from the pack first before taking out small groupings of Grimm.

It alerted the others but they couldn't find Ruby's hiding spot, but eventually the groups got too large and she was running low on ammunition so she went into the final stage.

Folding down and storing her scythe she drew her pistol and sword, dropping down out of the tree she was hiding in she covered the mile and a half distance to the nest.

She had still not seen any sign of the Alpha but she knew it was around somewhere, so she started to tear through the lesser Grimm around the nest but eventually she came across the Alpha.

The Alpha Beowolf was larger than its lesser kin, it was almost double the size and towered easily over Ruby but as the woman looked up at the creature she simply smiled.

Without an Alpha to lead them the others would move on and go somewhere else, meaning that if she had missed any than they would leave the village alone.

Reloading her pistol, she charged towards the Alpha as she activated her semblance on the move to give her an added edge against the creature.

Killing the Alpha was hard, to become the Alpha they had to live for many years which meant that they had grown smart, a deadly combo within the Grimm.

But with the Alpha dead and the nest cleared she had completed the contract and once she had received the payment from the village, she began the trip back to the school.

It took her a day to return to Beacon but she arrived late at night so most of the school was asleep. Instead of making her way to her room though she decided to head to the headmaster's garden.

It was a secret garden within the school, there was the main garden with an outdoor sitting area that most students went to and used.

It had taken her several days of exploring the school to find it but she found it almost accidently when she went to Ozpin's office for permission to leave the school.

The Headmasters garden was tended by several gardeners but also every headmaster added something to the garden and tended to it themselves.

Ruby knew of this garden and found herself sitting just off one of the paths. There was a large tree that she sat under, the shattered moon illuminating the night's sky.

"I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow Miss Schnee." Ozpin said, startling Ruby who had become lost in her mind.

"I decided to come back slightly early, I didn't want to only come halfway and stop." Ruby answered, too tired to correct Ozpin about her name.

"I see. And you chose to come to my garden?" Ozpin asked of Ruby, leaning on his cane as he looked at Ruby.

"How long have you tended these gardens Ozpin?" Ruby asked, smiling slyly back at Ozpin.

"Since I became the headmaster of this school." Ozpin answered.

"Which was when exactly? This life or the half a dozen before?" Ruby stated with a smile as it was clear she knew more about Ozpin then she was letting on.

"Ironwood told you." Ozpin said as he guessed the only person that would have told her the truth.

"He did, when I awoke my power. He told me most of it, allowed me in on the secret…before I left." Ruby explained briefly.

"I see. How much did he tell you about her?" Ozpin asked as he wanted to gauge how much Ruby knew.

"Enough." Ruby stated, "But I don't see why you want me here. I left, for good reason. You have no reason to believe I'd fight for you, on your side in a mess of your own creation." Ruby said coldly as she stood up from the ground.

"Since you left Atlas Academy you've been protecting the people, those who can't protect themselves against the Grimm. But that's not all you've been doing, is it?" Ozpin challenged Ruby, as he knew what Ruby had been doing despite what she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about Ozpin, but I do know this. You can't defeat her by yourself, and she's already making moves against you. It's all been building and it's coming to its crescendo soon." Ruby replied cryptically as she walked away from Ozpin and the gardens.

What Ozpin said was true, she had been following her rise and the moves she was making. Since Ironwood had told her everything she began considering everything which was why she knew that Ozpin couldn't defeat her alone.

She was hesitant about helping Ozpin, joining his fight but she knew that in the end she would join him. Ozpin had pointed it out, she fought to protect people who couldn't protect themselves and if she had her way with the world then no one would be safe, so she had to step up.

Though she wasn't sure, Ironwood had made it hard for her to trust any of the brotherhood, she only trusted Qrow because she had spent several years growing up with him and several years with his sister, Raven.

Her upbringing was different to the others within the Schnee family, and while it was a hard childhood she wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Entering her dorm room, she saw the others were in bed and asleep, allowing her to quietly sneak in and undress for bed and climb in. Allowing sleep to take her.

The next morning when Ruby woke up immediately her team questioned on where she had been, shocked that she had just vanished without a word to them.

"Where have you been?" Weiss asked immediately upon seeing Ruby awake and dressed in their dorm room.

"I had a contract." Ruby stated, gathering what she would need for the day and strapping her weapons to her side.

"A contract? But we're still training." Yang asked, surprised that Ruby could take a contract.

"You all are, I've been taking contracts for the last couple years." Ruby said, not caring how it sounded as she went for the door. "If you don't start getting ready soon then you'll be late." Ruby called out as she left, heading to her first class of the day.

Ruby got through the classes easily enough and they were heading to their final class of the day, which she knew what was going to happen. Glynda would be informing them of a trip into the forest the next day.

Team leaders had already been informed of the mission, it was a simple retrieval mission meant to stimulate a retrieval contract and give the students some real-world experience though it would be in a controlled environment.

There wouldn't be Grimm around, or at least there shouldn't be any as they had been cleared out by a couple teachers to protect the first years, though Ruby didn't agree with this method.

"Tomorrow morning you will all be meeting me at the docks where we'll be transported to the forest around Beacon, once there you will each be given an item to retrieve as a team. You'll have a two-mile radius that you can search and four hours to complete the task. Any questions?" Glynda announced to the class.

"Will there be Grimm there?" Jaune asked hesitantly.

"The area was cleared out yesterday afternoon, but I can't promise that Grimm haven't returned to the area. If there are too many then we will fall back to the transports and leave the area. Anything else?" Glynda asked the group but seeing no more questions she dismissed the class to prepare for the mission tomorrow.

"Come on, we need to get our bags sorted for the day." Ruby said to her team, taking them back to their room. She wanted to help them pack to make sure they had everything they would need for the day.

* * *

 **The next morning.**

They met the other teams and Glynda in front of several Bullheads at the docks and once the last team arrived they boarded the ships and took off for the forest.

Leaving her team sitting down, Ruby carefully climbed over to where Glynda was sitting and Ruby took a seat next to her, pointing up at a headset so they could talk.

"Yes, Miss Rose." Glynda asked once their headsets were on.

"How certain are you that the Grimm are cleared out?" Ruby asked, meaning no offence in her words.

"I did it personally Miss Rose, there are no Grimm in that area and I sent two teachers out earlier to check that the area was still clear." Glynda affirmed coldly, not liking Ruby's tone.

"I meant no offence, but the Grimm have been growing in number and have been becoming more aggressive lately. They're becoming bolder as well, I just think we should be extremely cautious." Ruby suggested gently, knowing that Glynda wouldn't like someone telling her what to do.

"I'll take it under advisement but everyone here is training to be a Hunter, they should be able to handle a few Grimm." Glynda said, removing her headset but managed to hear what Ruby said before she removed her own.

"That's not what I'm afraid of, not at all." Ruby said, shaking her head as she headed back to her team. They would be landing soon, and she wanted to be moving quickly.

"What was that about?!" Weiss yelled over the engines, barely being heard by Ruby and the others.

"Nothing. Let's focus on the task at hand." Ruby said, getting her team focused was better them worrying them needlessly.

Once they had landed and gotten their task from Glynda, several crates of food had been stolen and they had to find them. Ruby led her team into the forest, they had four hours to find them and return.

"So why are we looking for food? Grimm don't take food, shouldn't we be looking for them or something?" Yang asked, finding food wasn't exactly what she expected to do today.

"Contracts come in all shapes, this would be where thieves or bandits have stolen food and you'd have to track them down and get the supplies back. Some villages only survive on food delivered so every bit counts. This is a test of our tracking skills." Ruby explained to them, checking the ground for tracks made for them to follow.

"What was the contract you had? Was it one like this?" Weiss asked, curious as to what contracts Ruby was taking.

"It wasn't, I had to clear out a Grimm nest threatening a village." Ruby replied briefly, leading her team further into the forest.

"By yourself?" Blake asked, the White Fang if they ever encountered a nest would try to avoid it or worse case attack en-mass.

"Of course. Play it smart, I have a sniper rifle. I picked off small groups of Grimm at a distance over two days before moving in closer to take them out. Once the Alpha is gone then they will move on or be easier to kill." Ruby explained to them, it wasn't the first nest she had taken out, but she had learnt from mistakes in the past.

"So, you took it slowly? What about the village, didn't they get attacked in that time?" Yang asked, curious.

"I was between the nest and the village, I could stop any Grimm from leaving the area and heading for the village." Ruby answered, she didn't mention her powers that she had used to watch out for any Grimm sneaking away.

Weiss was about to speak up when Ruby raised her hand up, a closed fist in the air that stopped everyone. Blake who recognised what Ruby was doing held a finger up to her lips to keep everyone quiet.

It took several minutes before Ruby was happy enough to speak, "I thought I heard something…it's gone now though, keep your eyes open as we continue." Ruby said and continued walking.

"The Grimm are cleared from here, could it just be another team?" Weiss offered up.

"A tip, never take anyone else's word for anything. Especially if they claim somewhere is clear as they can't, especially when it's a day old." Ruby informed them all as she stepped back to allow Blake to take the lead in tracking.

Over the next hour Ruby alternated between who was tracking so everyone had a go and learnt how to do it, and it was Yang that discovered the two crates of food.

"Hey, I've got them here!" Yang yelled out, waving her team over.

"Quiet!" Ruby bit out harshly, her hands rested on her weapons as she looked around into the forest.

"What is it?" Weiss asked softly, keeping her voice low.

Blake heard it, a subtle rustling in the forest around them. It was quiet, barely audible and she knew that she should have heard it earlier, if it wasn't for her bow covering her ears she would have but somehow Ruby had managed to hear it earlier and now.

It was louder and getting closer to them, which was when the others heard the noises coming from the forest.

"Fall back to the transports, head due east. Move!" Ruby ordered quickly, seeing the danger ahead of them that was coming for them.

"Don't attack, only defend yourself." Ruby said as the first Beowolf charged out of the woods behind them.

Ruby turned briefly, drawing her pistol, in a moment as she fired two shots directly back at the Beowolf, her shots tore into its chest and killed the creature.

She had turned and was running with her team by the time it started to dissolve. Keeping to the back of her group she turned several times to take out Grimm that were chasing them.

It didn't take the team long to get back to the transports only to find that they weren't isolated in having Grimm attack them as several teams had been attacked and now the landing site was also being attacked.

"Are we the last team?!" Ruby called out to Glynda who was protecting the transports with several students.

"No, we've still got one more team on their way back." Glynda informed her, killing another two Beowolves charging them.

Risking a glance at the transport she saw that JNPR were inside waiting alongside her own team that had just climbed aboard.

"Have you had contact with them?" Ruby asked, her pistol barking an angry retort at an Ursa taking a swipe at her.

"I have, they're about five minutes away. They've avoided the Grimm so far, but they're trying to avoid them coming back." Glynda informed Ruby, treating her as an equal rather than a student.

"Weiss, Pyrrha, Nora. Come here, form a line. Take the Grimm out at range. Blake, Yang, Jaune, Ren. Spread yourselves amongst us, any get close enough you take them out but don't go further than either Glynda or myself." Ruby ordered, and the students sprang into action.

She had gotten those with ranged weapons or attacks that could effectively hold a line while the others would protect the ranged fighters from any that got close enough.

"Don't let any get to the transport!" Glynda called out, trusting the students and Ruby to do what they needed to do.

Ruby drew Crescent Rose for the stopping power and range as she killed the biggest threats coming towards them.

Soon enough the air filled with cordite and explosions as the students started to take their toll on the Grimm attacking them, but it seemed almost endless in creatures as they charged and attacked them.

Five minutes soon came and passed them, and it was reaching ten minutes and still no sign of the other team.

"Still no sign of them, and the Grimm are getting bolder." Ruby said, and they were as the Beowolves before had attacked in groups but now they were attacking on their own as the ranks thinned but they were throwing themselves against the students.

"We wait, they must be close but have gotten delayed." Glynda replied, but as with the other students she was beginning to tire as the attacks were endless.

"Oh, screw it." Ruby mumbled to herself and she drew herself back, "Cover me!" Ruby said as she folded down her scythe and attached it to her back.

Ruby raised her hands to the sky, which began to darken as storm clouds formed. Thunder and lightning sounded in the sky and hit the ground, catching some of the Grimm while rain threatened the air.

"Ruby, don't!" Glynda shouted as she realised what she was doing.

Ignoring the woman Ruby knew she could end this now, she just had to call forth a little bit more of her power and she could kill the Grimm and end this fight now. Lightning strikes began to hit the Grimm, killing them instantly.

"They're here!" Yang called out, seeing the students coming out of the treeline to their right.

"JNPR. Get them into the transport. RWBY, fall back slowly to the transport." Glynda ordered them all.

JNPR moved forward to the students with Jaune and Ren helping two of the wounded students back to the transport while Pyrrha and Nora covered them and kept the Grimm off them.

As WBY and Glynda were moving back to the transport Weiss went to Ruby and grabbed her, "Ruby, come on we're going." Weiss said, looking scared as she noticed Ruby's eyes.

Her eyes were still silver but inside she could see what looked like fire spreading around her iris' it looked like the silver and fire were fighting within her eyes.

"Get her into the transport! Now!" Glynda cried out, she seemed to be the only one that knew what was going on with Ruby as Weiss grabbed Ruby and pulled her back into the transport.

"Go! Go!" Glynda shouted at the pilot as everyone was inside.

As the aircraft rose up into the air they saw Ruby collapse onto the floor of the Bullhead, cries rose out as they rushed to find out what was wrong with the woman but only Glynda noticed how the storm clouds vanished as quickly as they appeared.

Frowning Glynda knew only a little bit about Ruby through Ironwood and Ozpin, but she didn't understand what had happened just now, it was unlike the others they never collapsed like this after using their powers.

Reaching down she moved the students out of the way as she checked over Ruby, feeling her pulse coming strong she told everyone, "She's alright, she just passed out." Glynda informed them.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief though Weiss wasn't near them as she had sat down and had a worried and faraway look in her eyes as she starred at Ruby.

' _What was that? What was going on with her eyes? Is she alright?'_ These questions raced through Weiss' mind as she tried to understand what had happened with Ruby and what was going on with her.

She was close with Ruby, when Weiss had made it known she wanted to become a Huntress and began training in secret it was Ruby who found out first and instead of telling their parents like she thought she would, she helped her.

They met in one of the large halls in a disused part of their large home where Ruby would train with Weiss. Teaching her ways to fight and with how to control her Glyphs as well.

Spending months together training until Weiss told her parents what she wanted to do, which they accepted, and Winter began to train her as well with Ruby. The two alternated but when the two went to Atlas they stopped training Weiss as often.

But at the end of their second year it was when Ruby left. She left the school with no word, and she vanished without a word to any of them what she was doing.

One day she had come home from school and she went in the middle of the night with a note just saying _sorry._

Now though, seeing Ruby like this. Unconscious of the floor of the Bullhead made her wonder why exactly she left, the family had an idea but not the truth of the matter, and what she had been doing, she never knew Ruby to be like this or her eyes to go like that.

A slight fluttering behind Ruby's eyelids alerted her to the fact that she was waking up as her eyes started to open slowly.

Blake had crouched down next to Ruby, leaning down to speak to Ruby as she slowly woke up and Weiss knew she was in stable hands as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Now she just needed to ask Ruby what the hell had happened out there and what was going on with her eyes.

 **A/N**

 **I apologise about the delays, I haven't been writing too much lately and I've been really out of it for a while, but here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **One week later.**

Upon arriving back Ruby was rushed away to the hospital wing at the academy where she was examined by the doctors and checked over and they couldn't find anything wrong with her, so she was released.

In that time though, Ruby wasn't seen much by her team. They weren't sure where she went but she wasn't in classes and whenever she returned to their dorm in the evening she went straight to bed.

It wasn't until the team returned to their dorm one evening to find Ruby standing in front of the TV in their room when they had a chance to talk to her, but she was watching the news as they reported of another Dust store robbery by the White Fang.

"The White Fang, awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss exclaimed loudly upon hearing the reporter.

"What is your problem?" Blake asked angrily, not liking how Weiss was talking.

"Weiss." Ruby warned lowly, she knew exactly what Weiss had gone through. They had all gone through it, but Weiss took it the hardest.

The transition period between ousting Jacque's Schnee and sorting through everything he had done to the Faunus and getting the Schnee Dust Company back on track had been hard, on the whole family.

But this hadn't stopped the White Fang from targeting the Schnee's because despite everything happening they still saw the Schnee's as the enemy.

Though in recent years they had stopped targeting the Schnee family now, at least most of them had but there were sub factions within the White Fang that still believed them to be evil.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said, turning to look at Blake.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake answered back angrily, not backing down.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss threw back immediately.

"So, then they're very misguided." Blake replied, while Ruby attempted to interrupt them but failed to do so.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal." Weiss said, not noticing how angry Blake was getting.

"You ignorant little brat." Blake growled in response.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" Weiss exclaimed loudly.

"You are a judgmental little girl." Blake replied, sounding even more angry.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss seemed to shout.

"Maybe we should go." Yang suggested to Ruby, but she just ignored her as her attention remained on these two women.

"That is the problem!" Blake shot back.

"You realise you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss said back, staying close to Blake.

"There is no such thing as pure evil. The Faunus hate Humanity because of people like Cardin, people like you, that forces the White Fang to take such drastic measures." Blake shouted back

"People like me?" Weiss exclaimed in surprise.

"You're discriminatory." Blake said.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouted, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." Weiss said angrily and as Yang moved forward to comfort her.

"No!" Weiss said, stopping Yang. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss shouted.

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake shouted back, and then as a sudden realisation as to what she said, she turned and ran.

Ruby watched as Blake ran off, she knew she should go after her. Stop her, possibly even explain more about her family and Weiss but she thought against it. She could find Blake easily enough later, but first she needed to speak to Weiss.

"The White Fang, for all their faults want the same thing as the family. Equality between humans and Faunus, unfortunately not all within the White Fang want this. They began resorting to violence because people listen more but at the same time it doesn't. It makes people fear the Faunus. The White Fang isn't all Faunus, and those claiming to be White Fang aren't always following the leader." Ruby explained to Weiss.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, wanting to know more and Weiss was silent but listening to Ruby.

"There are sub fractions in the White Fang, divisions if you will. The one that Blake was a part of was more militaristic and aggressive, which was why she left. The leader of this faction wasn't who she thought they were, so she left." Ruby answered. "You've got to remember that the murders, attacks were because of Jacques and it took time for him to…leave." Ruby said, unsure how to truly answer it.

She was young when it happened, and Weiss was younger still and Jacques, Weiss' father was still around and influenced their first few years and unfortunately they both got the brunt of it all.

"Tomorrow, we're going to go into Vale to look for Blake. I hope you'll use this time to decide what you want to do." Ruby said, heading towards the door but Yang stopped her.

"How do you know her story?" Yang asked, she wanted to know more about her partner, which she realised she knew painfully little about her.

"Because I was there when she left." Ruby stated, walking out of the door and heading away from her two teammates.

* * *

Ruby moved through the school quickly and quietly, using her semblance but it wasn't as destructive as she moved quickly through the school.

Using her semblance, she slowed as she reached her destination, the headmaster's garden. She found the tree she adopted as her own and sat underneath it, relaxing against the rough bark.

She'd been her almost a dozen times now and she had never seen Ozpin here again, it seemed that he knew to leave her alone while she was here.

Sighing Ruby took out her scroll and thumbed through to a familiar number as she sent the message. ' _When are you in Vale?'_ She asked.

While she waited for a reply she allowed her mind to reply what had happened. It brought up uncomfortable memories, those that she'd much rather had left in the past, but it wasn't something she could easily do with them being brought up.

Her scroll alerted her to a message, opening it she saw the reply which caused her to smile. _'I arrived half hour ago. What's up?'_ Came the reply.

' _A fight between my teammates…when can I see you?'_ Ruby asked the other person, she knew that meeting them would always help her relax and comfort her. And she couldn't wait.

The reply was instant this time, clearly expecting another message. _'Weiss and Blake? And tonight, if you'd like. ;)'_ The reply caused Ruby to chuckle a little, she had told the person all about her team and her situation at the minute, which was why Ruby wasn't there meeting them immediately.

' _I can't. But I need to go to Juniors tomorrow night.'_ Ruby answered, she couldn't go tonight otherwise she'd never come back and get her team to search for Blake so instead she'd have to wait until tomorrow.

' _Tomorrow night then. Now, tell me how little Weiss exploded at Blake?'_ Came the reply and Ruby soon lost herself in a texted conversation until she couldn't stay up any longer and fell asleep leaning against the tree.

* * *

 **The next day, Vale.**

"Blake! Where are you?!" Yang called out down another empty street, they had been searching for the last several hours for any signs of the woman.

"Calling out won't help." Ruby stated, playing with her scroll.

"Well how else are we going to find her? We have no idea where she's gone." Yang replied, slightly annoyed at their lack of progress.

"Do you know where she is Ruby?" Weiss asked as it seemed Ruby was just playing around on her scroll the whole time they've been searching.

"I have an idea where she may be going, but I'd rather find her first. Which I don't know where she is currently." Ruby answered as she put her scroll away for the moment.

"I could help you look." A voice said from behind them, startling the three young women.

Turning around Ruby recognised just who had spoken, and she smiled, "Hello Penny. What are you doing here?" Ruby asked the girl.

"Friend Ruby! It's so good to see you again." The girl, Penny said excitedly as she hugged Ruby.

"And you Penny, here let me introduce you to my teammates." Ruby said, turning around to introduce Weiss and Yang but had found that they had made themselves scarce. "Huh, I guess they carried on looking." Ruby said though she knew the truth. "Sure, you want to help me look?" Ruby asked Penny.

She knew the girl and the truth behind her as Ironwood had told her. She was the one friend that Penny had, truly had as she spent time with the girl while she was at Atlas Academy and, so she knew the girl well.

Though normally she had someone with her and wouldn't be allowed off on her own, which surprised her to see Penny wandering around Vale on her own.

"Of course, Ruby, I'd love to help." Penny said cheerfully once more.

"Alright, come on then." Ruby said, smiling at the girl as they started to head through the city together.

The two of them spent the day together looking for Blake but as time wore on Ruby had a growing sense of dread that she knew where Blake had gone.

' _Go.'_ Ruby's scroll alerted her to the message and it was a brief message that alerted her that Roman's raid was going on.

She had first gotten the hint of the raid when she learnt of a Schnee dust shipment coming into Vale, that was when she started dropping hints of the lack of security on the shipment.

Now though she got the confirmation she needed that the raid was going on, but she just hoped that Blake was nowhere near the ship.

"Penny, come on I know where Blake is." Ruby said, taking them towards the docks as night started to roll in.

"Alright Ruby." Penny said cheerfully as she followed Ruby unaware of where she was going.

When they arrived at the docks Ruby went onto the rooftop when she heard gunfire and fighting below, which was where she saw Blake and a monkey Faunus fighting against Roman and the White Fang there.

"Damn." Ruby muttered as she saw that Blake was there.

"What's wrong?" Penny asked curiously.

"That's my friend Blake, fighting against some bad people." Ruby stated, working out the best way to intervene.

"They're hurting your friend." Penny said, and before Ruby could stop her from doing anything Penny was jumping down and her swords deployed from her back.

"Oh God damnit." Ruby said, but she stayed back out of the way as she allowed Penny to fight the White Fang as she decimated them.

Ruby waited until the White Fang had been cleared but Roman had escaped from the docks and made off in the last transport that Penny couldn't stop.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Both of you!" Ruby shouted at Blake and Penny, she noticed that the monkey Faunus had gone as they heard sirens coming towards them.

"I'm combat ready Ruby, I can fight." Penny stated.

"Not the point Penny, you know you're not supposed to be fighting. Hell, you're not even supposed to be by yourself." Ruby said, and she saw Penny getting upset. "Look, he's going to arrive now and take you away. When you can, come find me again at Beacon alright? And remember, I'll always be your friend." Ruby said to Penny as she knew her fears, but the police cars arrived before Ruby could say anything else.

Turning to look at Blake she said, "We'll talk about this later." Ruby said to the woman as the police officers came towards them with pistols raised at them.

"Stand down officers, the situation is under control." Ruby said, reaching into one of her many pockets.

"Hands up!" The officers called back, noticing how heavily armed all of the Huntress' in training were.

"Huntress Rose, here's my ID. We stopped a raid by Roman Torchwick on this Dust shipment." Ruby said, pulling out a Huntress ID that she showed the officers.

The ID was one that all Hunters and Huntresses received once they completed their training, though Ruby's was given to her by a Huntsmaster when she saw Ruby handle a difficult contract.

"Our apologises, could you tell us what happened here?" The lead officer asked.

"Of course, could you allow my friends in first?" Ruby asked, pointing towards Yang and Weiss alongside a black car that had driven up.

The officer waved his hand getting their attention to let the people into the area while he and Ruby walked off to the side.

"Right. You three talk, I need to clear everything up with the officer." Ruby said, heading over to the side with the officer to explain what had happened while Blake, Yang and Weiss all talked amongst themselves.

Once Ruby had finished with the officers she went back to her team, where Blake immediately spoke up. "I'm sorry for running…" Blake began but Ruby cut her off.

"It's fine. I understand why you did, there's nothing to apologise for. Now you three head back to Beacon, I'll talk with you later about this Blake and how you knew about this raid." Ruby said to the three as she started walking away.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Weiss asked as Ruby walked away.

"Out. I'll be back tomorrow or the day after." Ruby said as she carried on walking away, her destination set into her mind.

The three women watched as Ruby left before making their own way back to their dorm. Along the way they spoke more, and Blake told Weiss and Yang how she met Ruby.

"After I left my partner at the time I went into the forward carts where Ruby was standing. We fought briefly before we stopped, at an impasse and she let me go. She helped me set up a new life and helped me get ready for Beacon. I lost contact after that and I didn't know anything of her past, not really." Blake told them both as they walked through the halls of Beacon. Her story taking time.

"So, you didn't know she was a Schnee?" Weiss asked, keeping her voice low so others couldn't hear them.

"No, I…how are you all related? I don't get it, she goes by Rose and doesn't look anything like you." Blake said, asking exactly what Yang was wondering as well.

"It's…well it's complicated. Our family isn't as simple as it seems." Weiss said as she opened the door to their dorm room.

"She's right, our family is as complicated as it gets." Winter Schnee said from her chair inside their dorm room, startling everyone that she was there.

"Apologises, but I heard you were out when I got here and decided to wait here." Winter informed them all. "Where's Ruby?" Winter asked.

"She's…not here, she's out. What are you doing here?" Yang answered for everyone.

"Looking for Ruby, and to see my sister and her team. Unofficially." Winter explained, "Now tell me what you've been up to tonight?" Winter asked the team, as no one met her eyes as she looked around.

* * *

Ruby headed through the dark streets by memory as she drew her cloak around her and over her head. She arrived at Juniors club where she was let in immediately.

Her eyes looked around the club as she headed straight for the bar. She took note of all the patrons around the club and she noticed the one she was looking for but sat at the bar first.

"Red. What can I do for you?" Junior asked as he came over towards Ruby immediately.

"Well firstly, Katakana. Find anything?" Ruby asked, referring to the man that he'd ask Junior to look for.

"It's a little difficult finding anything on her, the last location I could get was she was in Atlas briefly but after that she vanished. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything else." Junior answered though he was reluctant to tell Ruby the bad news.

"I expected as much, thank you. Secondly, I'd like two whiskeys please." Ruby ordered the two drinks.

"For yourself?" Junior asked as he poured the drinks.

"One for me, the other…see that girl over there, short one in black? Got green eyes. Give it to her please and say it's from Red." Ruby asked Junior to do.

"Is she old enough?" Junior asked, he had let the girl in, but she didn't seem old enough though the ID she showed proved it.

"She's older than me." Ruby said, handing over the money for the drinks. "Thank you." Ruby added.

Ruby started to sip at her drink while she waited for Junior to return and after a few minutes he returned and said, "She says thank you. Know her?" Junior asked.

"A little. Your room upstairs free?" Ruby asked.

"It is. How many nights?" Junior asked as he knew what Ruby wanted.

"One, no wait two please." Ruby said, handing over the cash for it immediately.

"All yours." Junior said.

Downing the rest of her drink Ruby stood up and headed for the stairs, "When she asks, direct her upstairs please." Ruby called out happily as she went upstairs.

"Confident, aren't we?" Junior called back.

"Always Junior." Ruby called back over her shoulder as she headed upstairs.

Heading into the room Ruby unstrapped her weapons first, placing them onto the table in the room and her cloak swiftly followed. After that she began to remove several knives she had on her body. Once they were gone she set about removing her boots which was when she heard it.

The door hadn't opened but she heard the footsteps. They were featherlight on the ground, barely audible but the sound was there and in the quiet of the room it was noticeable to Ruby.

Letting it play out, she finished removing her boots and stood up once more, which was when the person behind her made her move.

There was a quiet scrape of metal on metal as a blade was drawn from its sheath, but Ruby kept her back to the approaching person as she was interested to see what would happen.

Even though she was taller, not by much but just enough she felt the blade reach up behind her in the air and slide down her front.

She felt the cold steel of the blade against her skin as it carefully slid along her body between her breasts and stopping at her waist and remained there.

"I rather like these clothes, so I'd rather you didn't." Ruby said calmly, and the blade was removed just as carefully as it was slid in.

"You weren't that worried last time." The soft, sweet voice pointed out behind her. Remembering the last time well with Ruby's original outfit that she had worn.

"I wanted a change then, I don't anymore." Ruby stated, slowly turn around to face the woman who had entered her room. "Seems you wanted a change as well." Ruby said as she took note of the woman's new outfit.

Her outfit was black and white which consisted of a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar alongside a black ribbon bow hanging from the front of her collar. The blouse exposed her midriff and she had medium length black armbands on both of her wrists. With the blouse she wore a knee-length skirt fastened with a white belt with black shoes that had been removed and placed next to Ruby's boots.

"It's only temporary." She said, taking a step forward into Ruby's reach.

"That's a shame. You're rather cute, in that Lolita way." Ruby stated.

Instead of replying to Ruby, the woman just stepped forward and reached up to pull Ruby down to her and pulled her into a searing kiss.

Ruby lost herself briefly in the kiss before she broke it off. Curious Ruby wanted to see what the woman was going to do next.

It wasn't long until she let the woman fall back with her to the bed as she pulled the woman into another kiss as she wrapped her arms around her.

The kiss lasted a little longer than the first but was cut short as the woman started to crawl downwards, planting kisses on Ruby's exposed skin before getting onto her knees on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked huskily, sitting up slightly to watch her go down.

"Not far." The woman said, smiling slightly as she knelt on the floor.

Ruby watched as the woman's head disappeared underneath her skirt and she felt warm breath and kisses being traced along her thighs.

Whining as the woman took her time reaching her sex, she simply enjoyed teasing Ruby until finally she placed a kiss onto Ruby's sex.

"Neo, please." Ruby begged, using Neo's name at last as she wanted release.

Neo smiled underneath Ruby's skirt, though the other woman couldn't see her as she reached up and removed Ruby's panties with a little help from Ruby as she lifted her waist before she leaned back in for another kiss on Ruby's bare sex.

Letting slip a moan from her lips Ruby reached a hand down and tangled it into Neo's black hair as she pushed her against her sex more as Neo began to use her mouth and tongue on her causing more moans to slip from Ruby's mouth.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked sleepily, not even bothering to cover herself as she wrapped her arms around Neo's body.

"Drawing. It's been a while." Neo replied as she leaned against Ruby and brought her knees up, her sketchbook resting on them while she had a pencil in her hand.

"What are you drawing?" Ruby asked, waking up further as she looked over Neo's shoulder to look at the book.

"You." Neo answered, revealing the drawing of Ruby while she was sleeping, the covers covering her waist but her upper body was revealed, and Neo was just detailing her face.

"That looks amazing. You'll have to let me see once it's finished." Ruby said in reply, loving that Neo was an artist though she didn't have as much time for it now.

"Once it's finished? I plan on finishing it now." Neo answered as she carried on adding little detail to it.

"That's unfortunate than, I need to be getting back soon and well, I want a proper goodbye." Ruby whispered huskily into Neo's ear, leaning down to kiss Neo's neck.

"Well damn." Neo answered as she put her book and pencil away and then turned to Ruby, pushing her onto her back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six.**

 **Two day later.**

Ruby spent most of her time with Neo that night and the next day, though they did little but enjoy each other's presence, but Ruby still had no idea if Neo would be sticking around this time or not.

Heading back to Beacon she ran into Glynda first, which was rather tense as the professor demanded where she had been the last two days.

"I was following up on some leads Professor. And organising another contract that I may be taking." Ruby replied, it wasn't far from the truth she had considered a new contract, but she was unsure if she would be taking it just yet and the leads were from her personal investigation.

"You need to inform us if you won't be returning to the school for days at a time. You can't just run off on your own." Glynda informed Ruby.

"Understood professor. Now I must go see my team." Ruby said, heading away from the teacher. She wouldn't heed what she had said, because she was just as likely to vanish without a trace again if that's the way the tide took her.

Heading through the school she made it to her dorm where she went straight in but froze in the doorway. "Winter." Ruby said, spotting her older sister in the room with her teammates, unconsciously her hands reached on her sword at her side.

"Hello Ruby, it's been a while." Winter said coolly, though she was nervous at seeing Ruby again. They hadn't left each other on the best of terms though that was unknown outside of herself, Ruby and Ironwood.

"I was expecting you to come here at some point, when did Weiss tell you?" Ruby asked as she took more steps into the room, keeping some distance between herself and Winter.

Winter was a tall young woman with the Schnee's fair complexion and white hair with blue eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the rear, though it was not her usual hairstyle.

She wore a white coat with a red rose brooch at the top with exposed upper arms and black gloves while her trousers had grey garters incorporated into them.

Her rapier and dagger were at her side attached to her hip but there was also an additional sword that was strapped across her back, it was one that Ruby recognised immediately.

Spotting the sword Ruby's eyes grew colder somehow as she eyed Winter, waiting for her to answer her question.

"Since initiation. Where have you been the past day and a half?" Winter asked as she knew that Ruby hadn't returned with Weiss and her team.

"Busy. I was meeting someone and following up on something else." Ruby said, her eyes softening briefly as she thought of Neo before they hardened again.

But the slight break was enough for Winter to notice and realise just who Ruby had been seeing, "You're not still seeing her, are you?!" Winter exclaimed, earning the attention of Weiss, Blake and Yang who were all watching with keen interest.

"Who I see is my own decision. Not yours." Ruby stated in her defence.

"She's just using you! Can't you see that!" Winter shouted at Ruby, taking a step towards her.

"Don't you dare! You can't talk about things you don't understand." Ruby shouted back, though she took a step back from Winter as her hand moved to Crescent Rose instead of her sword, her hand gripping it lightly.

"I dare. You're blind to everything she's done and is doing. The entire time you were supposedly 'dating' she was cheating on you. I saw her with other students, caught her several times and you didn't listen to me then! I thought you would have more sense to continue seeing her now!" Winter said as she shouted again and advanced towards Ruby, not noticing how Ruby gripped her other weapon.

Ruby didn't answer verbally this time but took a step forward, her eyes starting to glow slightly as she advanced towards Winter. "You should stop talking. You understand nothing." Ruby said once more as her voice was growing colder and the room even began to feel colder.

"Winter." Weiss said, attempting to deter her sister from going any further as it looked like the two were about to come to blows.

"Ruby, you need to calm down otherwise you'll pass out again." Blake said, she noticed the similarities between what was happening now and what she had seen before when Ruby started to act like this in the forest on their mission.

Ruby stood there and closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths before opening her eyes again, which had returned to their normal dull silver.

"The decisions I make are my own, I won't let anyone else dictate my life to me again. My life is my own, and it's one I want to spend with Neo." Ruby stated coldly to her sister, turning away from them and leaving as quickly as she arrived.

"What the hell was that all about? She's never been that angry at someone before." Yang said and although her experience was limited since school started it was enough to tell that this was out of place with Ruby.

"While at Atlas Ruby had a…I use this term loosely, but she had a girlfriend and well…" Winter attempted to explain but she wasn't sure how far to go into it nor how to really explain it to them.

"The family didn't approve. I don't know why, but they made it rather known that they didn't approve of Ruby's choice. Mom, Summer she kept rather quiet on it for some reason but everyone else didn't." Weiss stated. She held no such hatred towards Ruby's choice in girlfriends though she never met the woman, but she knew that it was always an argument when Ruby came home after Winter told the family.

"Why though? Why didn't you like her?" Blake asked in confusion, why would the family who seemed the most open not approve of their daughter's choice in partners.

"The woman…Neo, she wasn't exactly the most faithful and it was well known to us that she wasn't, but Ruby didn't see that, or see the way she was." Winter began to explain, "I became more forceful as I didn't want to see Ruby get hurt but I only ended up pushing her away more." Winter said mournfully.

"Where do you think she went?" Blake asked them, wondering where Ruby would have gone after this.

"Training. She always trains when her emotions get too high." Weiss answered, thunder clapping outside their window as a storm moved in.

* * *

Emotions are powerful, they dictate actions and responses. As such the Maiden powers ran off emotions. At least when one was feeling extreme emotions.

So, when one was extremely angry, upset, happy, any emotion at the end of the spectrum could trigger the powers, though nothing bad or explosive, and not in a way that hurt people. Not really.

Each Maiden could control the weather, it was part of their power that they could control such things. It was one of the first things they're taught because in a fight the type of weather could determine the advantage one would get.

But, because this power was so related to their emotions, if they were upset or sad then they could unintentionally cause it to rain, or if they're happy make it a bright, sunny day. Anger was what led to storms and there were stories where angry Maiden's had caused ships to crash over the years.

Now, as the storm grew around the school it forced students inside quickly to avoid them getting caught out, but Ruby didn't care for this as she headed for the practise cages.

All academies had training areas for the students to practise and train. Whether it be in teams, on their own or against other teams. These areas were continuously monitored by the teachers to make sure the students were safe, or as safe as one could be when fighting.

In the private cages there were options to go through routines on your own or against android opponents. Much like the Atlasian Knights these androids had several weapons including rifles, swords and spears that they could use to fight against the students.

The sound of fighting, metal against metal rang out in the large practise area as Ruby entered, all the space was open and visible to everyone, so if one was practising on their own others could watch them if they wished.

The same was said for everyone in the room as it allowed the teachers to monitor everyone but also allowed students to perhaps learn from watching others fight.

Entering one of the private cages Ruby locked the door and activated the maximum number of androids, five and she had them all with swords or spears as they came out of their own cages and advanced on Ruby.

Drawing her sword, she held it out at arm's length in an en-garde position as she waited for the first one to swing at her.

* * *

 **Several hours later, that evening.**

WBY with the addition of Winter spent the rest of their day together talking and eventually as dinner time rolled around they headed down to the cafeteria though there was still no sign of Ruby since she had walked out hours ago.

"It's rather quiet in here." Winter commented as she noted that it seemed devoid of most of the students. "Is it always like this?" Winter followed up upon getting her food.

"No, it's not. Normally it's rammed with students getting food." Yang answered but she spotted one of the other teams that they knew, "Hey, there's Velvet. Let's ask her what's going on." Yang said and so the four of them headed over to the rabbit Faunus.

"Hello Velvet, do you know where everyone's gone?" Blake asked as they approached.

"Hey. They're at the training cages. Didn't you hear?" Velvet replied.

"No, what's going on? Have we missed out on something?" Weiss asked next.

"Ruby, she's been in a private cage most of the day. She's set the knights to the hardest setting, everyone's down there watching her fight to see how long she lasts." Velvet informed them.

"She's been doing what? And no one's stepped in to stop her?" Winter exclaimed rather loudly, startling Velvet slightly.

"Uh…no, they haven't…Professor Goodwitch is there but she's allowing it to continue." Velvet informed the rather angry Winter.

"Come on, let's go get Ruby." Winter said as she marched out of the cafeteria and towards the training area. Fortunately, they didn't need to go outside as the storm hadn't eased up at all since Ruby left, something that no one noticed.

Entering the training cages, they saw the large crowd surrounding one of the cages, pushing their way to the front Winter led the rest of WBY there where she saw Glynda standing there watching.

The four women looked at Ruby, seeing that she had her sword out in one hand and a pistol in her other hand. In the air above, her read the number three hundred and twelve which indicated the number of kill hits she had made against the androids.

Winter looked at Ruby and the knights she was fighting. Ruby's sword was slightly dulled to avoid damaging the androids too much but after either a kill hit, or enough damage had been sustained resulted in them shutting down briefly and a kill being added and then ten seconds later they activated again and engaged.

That was when Winter noticed the glint, she took careful note of the blades of the knights and saw that they weren't dulled or blunted but were sharp, knowing this she looked at Ruby and spotted several cuts that were bleeding lightly on her body.

"The blades are sharp! Why the hell haven't you stopped this!?" Winter shouted, turning to face Glynda as she had the power to override the cage.

"Because we both know that we can't stop her, which is why I'm here. As soon as it gets too much I'll step in but to stop her now will result in her locking me out of the system." Glynda said quietly so the other students around them couldn't hear it as they all thought the teachers had the power to override the cages.

"Can she do that?" Weiss asked, surprised that Ruby could lock her out like that.

"She can. Anyone who is a full Huntress has the authority to control the cages, though it is against the rules to allow them sharp weapons and this many. She has also disabled the voice command and so she has to reach the controls to deactivate them." Glynda informed them all, she had seen the voice command disabled on her scroll when she first arrived but as she said there was nothing she could do. And she'd much rather have Ruby in a controlled situation then somewhere unmonitored.

"You can disable the voice override?" Yang asked, learning this for the first time as she didn't know that it could be done.

"Yes. Though again it's against the rules, even for experienced Huntresses." Glynda answered as she continued watching Ruby.

"Half an hour more or if she starts to flag I'll step in and stop her." Winter said as she focused on Ruby and the way she was fighting.

* * *

She was flagging. She knew she was, when she started she was being creative with her dodges and moves but now she was sticking to simple dodges, fakes, side steps to avoid being hit. All of this was simple and repetitive which was exactly what she was looking for. Something to lose herself in.

 _Block. Dodge. Duck. Thrust. Dodge. Slice. Duck._ It was a dance as she fought the five knights. Giving them, different weapons made it a challenge and one that she had kept up with without using her powers at all.

When she saw the flash of white hair outside the cage then she knew exactly who was watching her now, she knew the students and even some teachers had been watching her for a while now but now with her watching as well she knew this session would be cut short.

Rushing forward she slid underneath two swords, her own sword slashing out in a wide arc which cut across both of their chests shutting them down.

As she continued moving forward she drew her pistol and emptied her cylinder into one of them though the bullets were training rounds that didn't destroy the knight.

As she reached the final two knights which wielded spears they stood ready near the button and she heard the three behind her powering back up and approaching her.

Charging forward she jumped up over the two knights as they thrusted out with their spears, following her as she went.

Cursing as she felt the sting of a blade against her cheek she landed on the ground by the button and she reached out, disabling the knights as they stopped their attacks and went back to their own cages.

Raising a hand to her cheek, her fingers came away bloody. Cursing once more she sheathed her sword and once she reloaded her pistol, with real bullets she holstered that as well and she left the training cage.

Walking out of the cage the students parted as she walked through, some staring in admiration while others looked on in fear, but Ruby simply walked though without a care, letting her blood drip freely down her cheek.

Ruby knew her team and sister was following behind her, but she ignored them as she headed for the armoury which was pretty much empty as all the students were in the training cages.

"Alright, shows over everyone. Clear out!" Glynda yelled out to the students, dispensing them.

Taking a seat in the armoury she grabbed a sharpening stone as she began to sharpen her blade, she had dulled it for training but now she wanted it back up to its regular sharpness.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she didn't turn to address her siblings or her team as she focused on the rhythmic sounds of her blade sharpening.

"Ruby…" Winter began to speak, intent on chastising her sister for the intense training but also the rule breaking but that was when she saw that Ruby's cut on her cheek hadn't healed yet, whereas her Aura should have healed it already.

"Why hasn't it healed yet?" Winter asked, turning Ruby's head so her cut cheek was facing her.

Ruby didn't bother to answer as she raised her hand and gently removed Winter's hand from her face as she carried on her work, but it revealed her wrist and Winter spotted what was there.

"Why are you using an Aura supressing bracelet?" Winter asked, realising why Ruby's Aura wasn't healing her.

"Train hard, fight easy." Ruby answered, which was enough for them to understand. At least the simple fact of it all.

"So, what are your plans now? Are you going to go after Roman?" Blake asked, wanting to know if Ruby would continue looking for Roman because she wanted to.

"Stay low. Focus on school for the moment, training. I'm not going to actively look for Roman and you shouldn't either. You shouldn't have even been at the docks, so I hope that you won't go after him either." Ruby replied, she was going to look for Roman and she knew that Blake would as well but if she could get ahead of her team then she could protect them better.

"Get that bracelet off." Weiss said, reaching over to Ruby's wrist to remove the bracelet.

Ruby lifted her arm to Weiss as she allowed her to remove the bracelet and immediately upon it being removed Ruby's Aura flashed silver and her wounds healed immediately.

"Ruby…I uh…I wanted to apologise for earlier…" Winter started to say but was interrupted.

"You remember what Neo's semblance is?" Ruby asked, testing the edge of her sword and finding it satisfactory she sheathed it once more.

"No." Winter said as she couldn't remember what the woman's semblance was, and she doubted that she ever knew.

"Illusions. She can make people see whatever she'd like them to. She was the first person I ever trusted, even now I trust her with everything. She knew what happened when I was young, how I was with the family. Did it ever cross your mind that for the first time in my life where I chose to do something, that maybe I'd want my family to support me regardless? Even if it was to be the wrong choice." Ruby explained to them.

Standing up as she finished and walking away. "My life is my own, so are my choices. I would love my family to support me, but I don't need them to." Ruby stated as she left, leaving them all to digest what they were just told.

Ruby, exhausted after training went back to her dorm to rest for the remainder of the day before classes the next day.

She didn't hear her team come back, nor their attempts to wake her but even if she did she wouldn't talk to them, she had said her piece now.

It may be cold, but it was true, she didn't care if her family supported her or not, she had long since come to terms that her family wouldn't support her own choices. She had no say over whether she wanted to become a Huntress or not, if she even wanted to fight but she was damned good at it and would continue this path.

The next morning, she woke up early and went to Ozpin's office, she had her eye on a contract that she was thinking about, but she wanted to talk to Ozpin about it first, to see if he had any further information.

"Miss Rose, what can I do for you this morning?" Ozpin asked as she entered his office at the top of Beacon tower.

"Roman Torchwick. I'm guessing you already know that he's working for her, though indirectly." Ruby stated.

"I am…aware of this prospect. Though I am not exactly sure who he is answering to exactly." Ozpin admitted, there was no point hiding this from Ruby as she knew just as much.

"I'm going to be investigating him. I want to find out more on what he's doing, why he's doing it." Ruby informed him.

"And you'd like my permission to do just that. How long do you think it'll take?" Ozpin asked, considering her idea.

"A couple weeks, a month tops. There's a couple long contracts in Vale that would take about that long as a cover." Ruby answered.

"Alright, but I want you to inform me of anything you find out." Ozpin said, knowing that he couldn't really stop Ruby if she wanted to look into this but this way he could discover what she knows.

"Of course. Thank you." Ruby said, taking her leave from his office. She had everything she needed already, so it was simply going to the docks and getting onto an airship into the city, not bothering to say goodbye to her team.


End file.
